"Tomorrow's Jazz Audience: Where Are They?"

A Report for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters
on the Jazz Forum, held 12 January 2010
submitted by John Edward Hasse, Ph.D. - 21 February 2010

At the end of APAP's 2010 annual conference, about 150 presenters and others attended a two-hour open Jazz Forum. Thirty-some people rose to speak, offering opinions and insights on seven key issues: audience, community, education, business and marketing, generational differencese, the presenting context, and perceptions and mindset.

Key Recommendations emerging from the Forum

Research and develop more information about the jazz audience.
Develop much more cooperation, communication, and information-sharing to overcome "silos" and increase probabilities for success.
Establish a new national service organization for jazz, a number of people advocated. (Several people expressed support for working through existing organizations and several others a reluctance to join another organization.)
Better educate jazz presenters, audiences, teachers, and students [i.e., potential/future audience members].
Focus more on market-based solutions (earned income) and less on contributed income.
Develop "key talking points" to further the appreciation and understanding of jazz.
Reframe the presenting context: take jazz our of concert halls, even take it out of traditional night clubs, and take it to the people rather than drawing the people to it.
Better utilize the Internet and World Wide Web in general, and social media specifically.
Learn from other musical genres.
Recognize that the word "jazz" is, for some [young people], an obstacle to attending performances; yet many people they like jazz, whatever its called if they are exposed to it. Hence increasing access to jazz is crucial.

The entire report can be downloaded here.

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